Pennsylvania

2,060 systems serving 10,834,741 people

This drinking water quality report shows results of tests conducted by water utilities in Pennsylvania, provided to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. It is part of EWG's national database that includes 47,667 drinking water utilities and 20 million test results from 45 states and the District of Columbia. Water utilities nationwide detected more than 300 pollutants between 2004 and 2009. More than half of these chemicals are unregulated, legal in any amount. Despite this widespread contamination, the federal government invests few resources in protecting rivers, reservoirs, and groundwater from pollution in the first place. The information below summarizes drinking water quality for this state.

Chemicals

Water Utilities

Population Served

Detected Chemicals

59

2,060

10,827,007

Exceed health guidelines*

32

1,584

10,590,703

Exceed Legal Limits*

19

391

6,242,417

Unregulated chemicals detected

4

12

608,893

* Water utilities are noted as exceeding the legal limit if any test is above the maximum contaminant level (MCL). Most MCLs are based on annual averages so exceeding the MCL for one test does not necessarily indicate that the system is out of compliance.

32 Contaminants Exceeding Health Based Limits

Contaminants detected in Pennsylvania drinking water above health guidelines, according to an Environmental Working Group analysis of data obtained from state water authorities